Day 10: Riga, Latvia

I think I finally have my sleep all worked out!  Today is our only full day to explore Riga, Latvia so we set out to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.  Now, I am no history buff and know very little about Latvia so this was a learning experience for me.  Latvia is a relativity new country.  It had been controlled by USSR, the Nazis and again by the USSR.  It surprised me that there was so much back and forth before gaining full freedom in 1991.  The museum gave a great overview of the history of Latvia . . . the museum is currently in a temporary building due to renovations.  A walk by The Freedom Monument that is always guarded . . .

We walked back towards our hotel and went to the Central Market which was amazing!  

This also happens to be across the street from the bus station we arrived at yesterday.  It was large, beautiful, and very busy.  We walked into one area and you were hit with the smell of dill and garlic so we bought a pickle that was crisp and yummy too.

We did not give the fish a taste though.  It was that time of day again . . . spa was calling.  So off we went back to the hotel.

As you can see it is not near as nice as the previous hotel but relaxing and that is what mattered the most!  We found ourselves back out and about exploring the town and happened on the Powder Tower and inside was the Latvia War Museum.

It was still open so went inside; very nicely done with high quality displays.  The one thing that caught my attention were these wooden shoes . . .

Pretty smart to use them to keep the soldier's feet and boots dry in the snow.  We literally shut down the museum as they started turning off the lights so knew that was our sign to exit.  I enjoyed both museums today but it was a lot of reading, and I get bored easily.  It was back outside, and I could spend hours just walking around . . .

Snack time was calling so found a nice outside place to relax and enjoy the beautiful day.  I found my new favorite drink, espresso martini . . . oh my was it amazing!

. . . and add some fried bread and life was good!

We decided to try another place for dinner but it was packed so just had a beer and cider and returned to the place we had our snack.  Oh yes I ordered another espresso martini and this too . . .

I forget what it was called but had all sorts of grilled meat and vegetables which were good.  We ate it all but the blood sausage.  To celebrate the end of the day and a birthday we grabbed an ice cream and headed back to the hotel.